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Freshman Application Requirements

Standardized Testing

Standardized testing is one of the application requirements that can highlight academic preparedness. There are no minimum test scores required to be admitted to Stanford, and there is no score that guarantees admission. At Stanford, we review applications holistically, meaning every component of the application is valuable to us as we get to know each student.

Required testing:

ACT or SAT (Writing/Essay not required)

Stanford will accept scores from both the old SAT and the new SAT.

We will review applications from all students using either self-reported or official scores. If you would like to have official scores sent, it is fine to use the College Board’s Score Choice option or the equivalent offered by the ACT.

How to report your test scores:

We recommend that you simply self-report your highest scores in the testing section of the application. You can also have official scores sent to Stanford, but this is not required for us to review your application.

If your most recent test results arrive after you submit your application, you can self-report these scores by sending your student score report(s) as an email attachment to credentials@stanford.edu.

If you are offered admission and choose to enroll, official scores will be required. In order for test scores to be considered official, they must be sent directly from the College Board or the ACT.*

*Please note: Stanford reserves the right to revoke an offer of admission if an applicant's self-reported test scores do not align with those in the official score report.

Test Codes

SAT/PROFILE/TOEFL Code number: 4704

ACT Code number:0434

Superscoring Test Results

We want you to have the best test representation possible, so we will superscore your results according to the following rubric:

For the ACT, we will review all subscores and focus on the highest Composite from all sittings.

For the SAT, we will focus on the highest individual Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and Math scores from all test sittings. For SAT exams taken prior to March 2016, we will focus on the highest Critical Reading, Math and Writing scores. Because we are not able to superscore across the two exams, we will superscore results within the old and new SAT exams separately.

For the new SAT, you may have taken a sitting with the essay and a separate sitting without the essay. We will superscore your Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and Math scores across these two versions of the exam.

Testing Outside the U.S.

Many students ask about test substitutions, and while we do not accept alternate exam scores in lieu of either the ACT or the SAT, we do provide guidelines for testing exemptions for international students who may be unable to access a testing site.

SAT Subject Tests

SAT Subject Tests are optional. Because SAT Subject Test scores can highlight your areas of strength, we welcome the self-reporting of these results in your application. If you have taken a subject test more than once, it is fine to report your highest score.

Similarly, if you have taken Advanced Placement exams, you are welcome to self-report your scores in the application.

Deadlines for Testing

We recommend students take the ACT or SAT well in advance of application deadlines. It is unlikely that scores from tests taken after the deadlines will arrive in time for review. We cannot delay the review of an application in anticipation of scores that will arrive after the deadline nor can we guarantee that late scores will be reviewed. Please refer to our application and testing deadline chart for the last acceptable ACT and SAT exam dates.